Sunday, September 20, 2015

Chain of Command: Crimea Campaign

wahj managed to paint up his platoon of Soviet infantry plus supports in under two weeks, so to celebrate that feat I hosted a teaching game so he and fg can learn the joys of Chain of Command.

I picked the introductory "Patrol" scenario. We rolled a '2' for support, which gave me 2 points for a light mortar, while wahj picked a mortar and a Maxim. I did poorly for the Patrol Phase, effectively leaving wahj 3/4 of the table, but had an edge in rolling high for my Force Morale.

As usual I played cautious, waiting for the Soviets to commit their sections before choosing where to unleash my firepower. wahj sent a Scout team to probe on on flank and a section on the other. I deployed one section in a woods to cover the scouts, and another to take up position behind a fence to block the Soviet section.

wahj then sprung his Maxim gun on a hill looking down along the fence and caught my section in enfilade.

The Germans make a run for it.

The same scene from a different angle, showing the Maxim in its superb position, supported by a section. In the middle right you can see my other section in the woods, and in the upper right corner a third Soviet section goes for my right flank.

A closer view of the third Soviet section moving through teddy bear fur wheat field and pass haystacks made of the same.

With one section pinned and slaughtered in the open, a second in the woods covered by a Maxim and another section, I had but one undeployed section left. In a Western Front game I would just withdraw. But this isn't the Western Front...

As the third Soviet section neared my Jump Off Point on my right flank, I deployed my last section in a cabin and opened up. It wasn't enough to turn the tide as the Soviets took some Shock but returned fire effectively, killing my LMG team.

At this point I checked the cabin (which fg had just brought for the game) and realised there wasn't a back door on the model...

Against the British or the US, my men would have surrendered. But this isn't the Western Front... The section commander led the men in a suicidal charge against the Russians, losing all six men but taking six enemies with them. The Russians broke and fled back across the wheat field until rallied by their platoon leader. At this point I had a Force Morale of 5 versus wahj's 4, but I decided to concede the game.

Once again, it was a tense game for me. I made the mistake of deploying one section in an exposed position early in the game, and suffered for it.

wahj handled the Russians boldly, as he should. This was a game that felt very different from the slow, methodical, smoke-dominated (and frustrating for the Germans) games I played with Martin. With no teams to speak off, the Russian platoon was basically just three sub-units plus support, which limited their tactical options but made each one more critical.